The Smile concert has been cancelled
We regret to inform you that the only concert by The Smile in the Baltic states, scheduled for August 13 at the Sigulda Castle Ruins Stage, has been cancelled.
The band has announced the cancellation of their planned European tour in August due to Jonny Greenwood's health condition. In their statement, The Smile says: "A few days ago, Jonny became seriously ill from an infection that needed emergency hospital treatment, some of it in intensive care. Mercifully he is now out of danger and will soon return home.We have been instructed by the medical team in charge of Jonny’s care to cancel all engagements until he has had time to make a full recovery. To that end, The Smile tour of Europe in August is cancelled. We all wish Jonny a speedy recovery."
The Smile consists of the creative core of the cult band Radiohead – Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keyboards), along with Tom Skinner, drummer and percussionist for various bands, including the jazz ensemble Sons of Kemet.
In August, The Smile had 16 performances scheduled, including at the Flow Festival in Finland, Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands, and Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium, as well as in Munich, Vienna, Paris, Madrid, and several other European cities. All of the band's concerts in August are cancelled, including the highly anticipated visit to the Sigulda Castle Ruins Stage.
To receive a refund for purchased tickets, please fill out the form (HERE) by August 14. Refunds will be processed by August 28.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Yours sincerely,
L Tips Agency
Radiohead side project The Smile will perform in Sigulda in August
On August 13, the band The Smile of Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood will perform on the stage of Sigulda's Medieval castle. In addition to the two mentioned heavyweights, drummer Tom Skinner also participates in this project.
This will be The Smile's first and so far only concert in the Baltic States, and it will feature hits from both the band's debut album and the one to-be-released at the end of January.
Pre-sales at www.bilesuserviss.lv for entertainment mail subscribers start on Wednesday, January 10, at 11.00AM. General ticket sales from Friday, January 12, at 11.00AM.
The Smile project, whose name is taken from the title a poem by the British poet and writer Ted Hughes, was born during the pandemic, when it was difficult to make music together. Greenwood recalls, “We didn't have much time, but we just wanted to finish some songs together. It's been very stop-start, but it's felt a happy way to make music.” Radiohead drummer Philip Selway comments that it's healthy for the members to explore different projects and "see what these other musical voices can do with your ideas."
As mentioned, The Smile consists of the creative core of the cult band Radiohead - Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keyboards), as well as Tom Skinner, the drummer and percussionist of various projects, including the jazz band Sons of Kemet.
The Smile made their debut in a surprise performance for streaming of the Glastonbury Festival in May 2021, followed by 3 more concerts in London. In the spring of 2022, the band's debut album "A Light For Attracting Attention" was released, produced by Radiohead's long-term producer Nigel Godrich. Considering the talent of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, it is no surprise that this album was very well received by both the critics and the audience, reaching number 5 in the UK album chart. You Will Never Work in Television Again was released as the lead single in January 2022. It was later followed by The Smoke, Screening on the Surface, Pana-vision, Free in the Knowledge and Thin Thing.
Some critics call The Smile the reincarnation of Radiohead, a new facet that fuses bits and pieces of post-punk, progressive rock, afrobeat and neo-electronica. A Pitchfork reviewer opined that the album: "sounds more like a proper Radiohead album than any of the numerous side projects the band’s members have done on their own." Rolling Stone, on the other hand, rates it as "a lower-stakes, jammy album with some of their most straightforward songs in years." Most critics, however, immediately agree that the side project label allows Radiohead's creative tandem Yorke-Greenwood to write much more open and relaxed material: "an opportunity to work on some tunes without all the pressure of being Radiohead’s Lennon and McCartney or, maybe more accurately, Waters and Gilmour — likely to the chagrin of group’s other three members, since “A Light for Attracting Attention” contains some of the songwriters’ most easily enjoyable music in years.”
In the spring and summer of 2022, The Smile went on concert tours in Europe and North America, as well as performed at some festivals. The best known of them are the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Pitchfork Music Festival.
In the spring of 2023, the members of The Smile revealed that they started writing new material. The first single Bending Hectic was released on June 20 and features the strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra. Stereogum describes the track as an “epic that starts out soft and quiet and builds into a splendorous stomping beast."
The Smile announced their second album, “Wall of Eyes”, on November 13, alongside another single, "Wall of Eyes", with a music video directed by award-winning filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, aka PTA. The album was produced by Sam Petts-Davies and is set for release on 26 January 2024.
To support "Wall of Eyes" album, The Smile will visit the Baltics for the very first time. Therefore, the concert in Sigulda is simply a unique opportunity that must be used by every Radiohead music fan.
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